WHAT is the secret to running a successful practice? This was the question asked by the new team at Pegasus House in Cheltenham when they took over this longestablished small animal practice in December 2012.
Competent vets? A long and loyal customer list? Great location? Lack of local competition? Effective friendly staff? Good range of facilities? High rate of client compliance?
Of course, there is no short and single answer to what makes a practice profitable, but here at Pegasus House we quickly realised that an extensive and loyal client base alone was not enough to ensure that the practice would make sufficient profit to be able to survive.
Although the practice already had many loyal customers, it simply wasn’t making money. We were faced with the challenge of converting the existing database into a profitable client base, which meant first of all working out why we weren’t making a profit.
A comprehensive review of the practice revealed a fairly long list of factors contributing to the lack of profitability, with the main causes being poor or outdated systems of record-keeping and communication.
Difficult to measure
We saw that whilst surgical operations and emergency treatment provided one source of income, it was difficult to measure levels of compliance on vaccinations and preventive treatments, which provide a more regular source of finance.
Levels of compliance on on-going treatments or vaccination courses could not be monitored because of the outdated system of records, which provided very little information about clients and patients, indicating that the practice was missing out on a potential source of income and repeat business.
Records were handwritten, not computerised, resulting in very little continuity of information, as it was hard to find and interpret data, let alone track an animal’s progress or deterioration and thus review whether any further treatment was needed.
Owners do not always understand that sometimes medication is needed for the rest of the animal’s life. If a month’s supply of medication is prescribed, some owners think that once this has been administered everything will be cured when, in fact, blood tests are often needed to check to see if a higher or lower strength of medication is required.
As owners lose track of time and often forget when their pet needs a vaccination or the next flea treatment, it is vitally important for both pet and practice that clients are notified of these important dates and so we realised that a reminder system needed to be put in place.
We also wanted to make some basic changes to the practice to make it a more welcoming place for customers and their pets, so that owners would feel more comfortable about visiting.
We cannot rely solely on owners to understand or notice subtle changes in their animal but if they visit the practice more frequently, we are able to spot potential illnesses or problems and talk to them about their pets.
Nervous of animal
Pets can hide signs of illness, and we have also found that owners are often embarrassed to confess that they cannot medicate their own pet. Sometimes they are nervous of their animal or are scared of hurting their pet, yet are reluctant to admit this for fear of looking silly.
Having identified a range of issues to be tackled, we set to work about making the necessary changes to the practice and the way it is run. Pegasus House now boasts new computer systems, state of the art equipment and increased services which include a luxurious cattery and grooming centre. We also invested in a small marketing campaign to promote the practice to local residents and increase awareness of these major improvements.
Updating the practice’s record-keeping systems has helped enormously and we have taken advantage of the Premier Vet Alliance (PVA) customer service team to contact noncompliant owners, talk to them about the importance of regular vaccinations and then book them directly into the practice management system.
PVA’s Premier Vet Group runs a “vaccination compliance programme” (VCP) within practices, turning non-compliant customers into compliant pet owners. The unparalleled success of this scheme has meant that it is now available to independent practices.
Clients surprised
Pegasus House has signed up to the VCP and is working towards an 80% compliance rate of active animals.
At first, clients were surprised to receive phone calls asking how their pet was or reminding them to come for booster vaccines, but of course it showed we were thinking of them and that we care about ensuring good quality of life for animals by means of preventive healthcare.
The change in systems and our improved communication with clients has made a huge difference to the success and profitability of Pegasus House and our projections are on track.
Another means of improving compliance is by taking advantage of PVA’s Pet Care Plan which has also helped us to improve compliance as well as providing a regular income for the practice. Vaccinations, all flea and worming treatments as well as interim veterinary checks are included in the plan which customers pay each month at an affordable discounted rate.
This has helped with client retention, as has membership of PVA’s buying group, which means that as well as having access to the latest medicines and treatments, we are able to pass on cost savings to our customers.
PVA’s head of client services, Andrew Carter, says, “Pegasus House has seen major changes in the past eight months, and we are delighted to have developed a range of services that contributes to the success of this and many other practices.
“Running a successful practice is dependent on a great many factors, but high levels of compliance are vital and we are pleased to have been able to help improve these and so increase practice profitability at Pegasus House.”
